During the period 1500-1800, there were massive changes in world social and cultural systems, and the family unit as we recognize it today came into being. The emphasis on the individual, the right to personal freedoms and the desire for privacy developed during this period and were symptomatic of world wide shifts in attitude that also affected religion and politics.

Made by Lawrence Stone himself, this abridgement of his highly-regarded study omits many statistical details not needed by the non-specialized reader. It presents a new interpretation of the long-term social changes leading up to the English Revolution of the mid-seventeenth century.